First

As their car gets closer to the packhouse, Leila’s heart pounds with nervousness, an uneasy feeling grating her nerves.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

It’s been five years since she last saw Tatum, five years since she last saw the man she loved with all of her only for him to betray her, five years since he looked her in the eye and told her that her penalty was death even with his child growing inside of her, five long years since he took back his promise to never let her go and watched her jump to her uncertain fate.

No matter how strong she appears on the outside, the feeling of seeing him again truly makes her nervous, she doesn’t know if she has it in her to hold herself from lashing out at him, from offloading all the bitterness and anger stuffed in her chest on him.

Why would that even matter? Tatum means nothing to her, her only mission here is to prove her mother’s innocence.

She frowns at the pack house as their car pulls up to it, for the two years that she was Luna, she can number the times she stepped foot into this place.

Despite how much she gave them her undivided loyalty, devotion and affection as a Luna, they firmly rejected her, frequently

humiliated her and eventually cast her away.

She is grateful for all of those experiences, it moulded her into the strong independent woman she is today. Never again will she put her head down for anyone to step on, never again will she put the whims of others above her own good.

She steps out of the car with Amara in her arms and she can see the leering eyes of the pack members around the building rapt on her and her child, whispering amongst themselves and murmuring to each other.

*IS BONUS

At the entrance to the packhouse, she sees the big congratulatory banner congratulating the Alpha and the phoenix Luna on their

engagement hanging adjacent to the door.

She smiles bitterly at it and akes her head as she walks inside.

It’s a pity how Carmela has deceived all of them.

The moment her feet land inside the building, a strong minty and sandalwood scents blasts her nostrils hard, distinguishing itself from every other smell around, her wolf restlessness increases and it howls in joy, jumping up and down in Leila’s head.

Her heart thuds of its own accord and the closer she gets to Tatum’s office, the stronger it gets and the more she wants to turn back but she has to face him, it is inevitable.

She closes her eyes and uses all of her willpower to push her wolf to the back of her mind.

Once she gets the chance, this time around, she will cut the bond between her and Tatum the right way.

Theo knocks twice and pushes the door to Tatum’s office open before he steps inside, Kelvin follows with Amara in his arms and Leila steps in behind them, keeping a cold look on her face.

“Sit,” Tatum says in a straight tone, fiddling with some books on the shelf behind his desk, his back turned to them.

Leila’s heart races at the sound of his voice, the thick melody sounding exactly the same as she remembers it.

Kelvin pulls back a chair for her but she doesn’t sit, finding herself unable to tear her gaze away from his back, different emotions. coursing through her.

Tatum turns and calm grey eyes meet cold blue ones. For a

*15 BONUS

moment, everyone else blurs out like it’s just the two of them in the

room.

He looks completely different yet the same, his beards are now fully grown and he looks even bigger and muscular, his eyes holding a deep mystery to them, like a man who has seen the deep things of life, far from the ordinary gaze she knew him to have.

Suddenly she feels her hands trembling, her entire body pulsating with a feeling she cannot explain, an intense desire burning deep inside her core, stronger than anything she has ever felt in her life, her heart hammers with rage as her wolf tears forth from her mind, breaking the barrier she had put up.

Realising what is about to happen, she clasps her hands over her mouth quickly before the words force their way out.

“Mate,” she says into her hands and Tatum squints at her, c**king his head sharply and Kelvin looks at her with a rapt concern in his eyes.

“Everything alright?” Tatum asks, seeming completely unaffected by the bond that she is feeling.

“You’ve seen us, can we leave now?” Leila replies coldly, steadying herself and once more pushing her wolf to the back of her mind.

B

Comman